EPOCH HOMES AND MASS TEAM READY FOR SOLAR DECATHLON

This year's Solar Decathlon will feature a modular home designed by Team Massachusetts and built by Epoch Homes, a New England based modular home factory.  Modular homes have been creeping into every corner of new home construction and are even becoming a regular on Extreme Makeover, Home Edition with a custom modular log home being furnished by Blue Ridge Log Cabins featured on this year's premier of the show.

The 2011 Solar Decathlon is featured on the National Mall in Washington, DC from September 23rd to October 2nd.  I'm planning on visiting the show and checking out the Mass Team home.

Members of Team Massachusetts

CLICK HERE to visit to their blog

ECO-OFFSITE DELIVERS GOOD LOOKING MODULAR HOME

In California lives a boutique modular factory quietly building some very nice LEED homes.  Kathleen Liston, the president of ECO-Offsite, just unveiled her latest creation, a unique home in Menlo Park, CA. 

Kathleen Liston

As most of you know, I do not have a warm place in my heart for most west coast modular designers (think Michelle Kaufmann, etc), so imagine my surprise when I saw ECO-Offisite's home that would fit into any neighborhood in the US.

Enjoy the pictures and visit her website.

MODULAR GOES EXTREMELY SMALL

Here’s a great idea…buy some 40’ x 8’ storage containers and put 10 of these apartments in each one.

Tiny rooms, called "capsules", which measure just 7ft 10in long, 6ft 6in tall and 4ft wide, are now being offered on the outskirts of Beijing for as little as $30 a month.  

House prices in China's 70 major cities rose 11.7 percent year-on-year in March, the steepest gain in almost five years according to data published on Wednesday by China's National Bureau of Statistics.

The apartments, which come equipped with a bed and a desk, were opened by Huang Rixin, a 78-year-old retired engineer.

Mr Huang said his capsules were aimed what is known colloquially in China as the "ant tribe" – students and migrant workers who are crammed into dormitory rooms on the outskirts of major cities.

"I found there were six graduates living in three bunk beds in a room smaller than 10 square metres. My idea was to help these graduates live much comfortably than they do in the 'ant nest'," he said.

At the capsule apartments in the northwestern suburb of Haidian, Mr Huang's first tenant has already settled in, putting posters up on her wall and decorating her desk.  "I was not very adjusted on the first day" 25-year-old Zhang Qi said, adding that her failure to bring a thick enough blanket had given her a sleepless first night.

However Ms Zhang, who earns about $525 a month working at an advertising agency, said she was happy to be saving money after giving up her previous apartment that cost $120 a month.

"This is my own space; you can put up your own photos, feels kind of successful. People are born equal; living here does not mean the future will not be good," she added.

4th TIME THE CHARM FOR NATIONWIDE HOMES

For the fourth time in two years, Nationwide Homes has been selected to participate in ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Martinsville, VA-based Nationwide Homes will work with lead builders, The Fusion Companies of Annapolis, Maryland on the modular home project. This project will be assembled in Salisbury, MD on Maryland’s Eastern Shore between Sept. 28th and Oct. 5th.  I lived Salisbury for years and I know that getting modular homes to this area can be an adventure. 

Brothers Wes, left, and Josh Sims, co-founders along with Mike Sponseller of Annapolis-based builder The Fusion Cos.,  celebrate their firm being chosen to do renovation work for the ABC show “Extreme Makeover Home Edition.”

“Nationwide is proud to support Fusion as they take on the challenge of building a high-performance, environmentally friendly modular home for a very deserving family,” said Dan Goodin, Nationwide’s vice president of sales and marketing. “We look forward to once again showing millions of Americans the precision, efficiency and green attributes of modular homes.”

Nationwide Homes was the first modular builder to be used in ABC’s Extreme Makeover program, in which a deserving person or family is provided with a new house donated by volunteers. The winner is notified and immediately sent away on vacation, while volunteers build the new house on the recipient's lot within the tight time frame of 106 hours.

GOOD NEWS FOR BLUE RIDGE LOG CABINS

I sat and watched the entire Extreme Makeover Home  Edition show on ABC last night.

Chip Smith, the President of Blue Ridge Log Cabins, was very much in the camera for his company and for the modular housing industry and that was a good thing.  Chip is an excellent spokesman for modular housing and he is always working hard to improve his homes.

Chip Smith

The sad part was that outside of 55 seconds of filming inside his factory and a shot of the first of 13 trucks delivering the modules, you would be hard pressed to know that Chip runs one of the most unique modular factories in the world. 

Blue Ridge builds modular log homes.  Not just log clad homes, but real honest to God log homes in a factory.

DOUGLAS CUTLER'S MULTIFAMILY DESIGNS LOOK GREAT

If you've never visited the Modular Architecture website of Douglas Cutler, now might be a great chance to do it.  You will see what a good Architect can do with modular construction and get an idea of how far we come as an industry.

I just learned that they have designed multifamily buildings for the White's Bay Resort in Collingwood, Canada.  What makes this project interesting is that a Canadian developer is shopping these units in the US because it will save them about 35% over having them manufactured in Canada.

Each building will have 4 units, 2,400 sq ft each featuring 3-4 bedrooms. 

The project is slated to begin later this year or early next.  A factory has not been chosen yet but you can bet that there will be plenty of competition for a factory to put their name on this beautiful project.

EXPRESS MODULAR SHOWS YOU HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON YOUR NEW HOME

I have been writing about the benefits of modular housing for many years, talking about how eco-friendly and energy efficient modular homes are and why you should really consider buying one.  There are many factories to choose from as well as many great modular home builders serving the area where you want to build.

Now there is another reason to build a modular home.  There is a company that I found that just might be the way for you to build your next home.  It isn’t a factory.  It isn’t a builder with an office in your town.  Rather, it’s a national company with sales professionals that work with many factories to help you find the perfect home for you and your family.  

Over the years, Express Modular has used their system to help tons of home buyers become home owners.  They have established a network of builders and factories throughout the US to provide great modular homes and save you money as well.  They are NOT a “drop and set” company that is just there to sell you a house and then leave after the modules are delivered to your foundation.

Rather, they work with home buyers from first contact to move-in to insure that even if you do a lot of your own work on the house, every step is taken together.  They even offer a free e-book to help you take the first steps.

I know, I sound like an advertisement for them but I truly think that if you would like to save money and get a great new home, they just might be the key.